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Facelift Helps Graffiti Artists !

3 August 2006 Email this article

This summer saw the start of the ?Celebration of Age Festival? in Brighton, East Sussex. The ?Wall Art? Project was a collaboration between Age Concern and local graffiti artists Paul Barlow and Alex Young. An image chosen by the older generation but created in the style of the younger generation has been spray painted on the side of the Age Concern building in the centre of the city. Not only creating a colourful and humorous image, it?s understood to challenge the stereotypes the two groups can hold toward each other. To enable the whole wall to be decorated a 16m vehicle mounted platform was used. Thanks to Penny Mendonca for the photograph.

Facelift wins 1st Prize with new barrelpicker

18 July 2006 Email this article

Facelift staff have recently taken part in the charity event ?Paddle around the Pier Brighton? in aid of The Rocking Horse Appeal, RNLI and Surf Aid. The idea is that each company taking part build a raft which represents their business and paddle it around the West Pier. Facelift was initially approached to donate a cherry picker for the day for aerial photographs. This started the ball rolling and once they found out what the event was about, Managing Director Gordon Leicester and Workshop Manager Peter Loseby decided to enter themselves. The obvious choice of raft was of course a cherry picker which was understandably not the easiest thing to incorporate into a flotation craft. After a couple of days head scratching they decided to weld together a number of steel barrels which ended up as two buoyant ?hulls?. The barrels were then joined by an aluminium frame from which an ?articulated boom? was mounted. Fake hydraulic rams were used to make it look as realistic as possible, with local Company Pre-weld Fabrications sponsoring Facelift and helping to secure it all safely. The so named ?barrelpicker? took four weeks to build with the four man crew doing a sterling job winning first place and a trophy presentation by Fat Boy Slim.

Facelift Awarded IPAF Rental Plus

31 May 2006 Email this article

Facelift has recently achieved IPAF Rental Plus status that distinguishes reliable suppliers of access equipment from others. The award is an independent quality mark set out as an initiative from IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) that proves access hire companies provide top-flight levels of service. The award is based on independent assessment, and gives rental company members the opportunity to highlight their standards. The initial and then subsequent annual audits relate to customer service, safety, staff training, contract terms and machine inspection and is seen as continual tool for quality assessment and professional industry development. Speaking from the Hickstead Office Managing Director Gordon Leicester commented ?We are very pleased to have received this award, but we must now ensure we maintain these standards and have the foresight to continue to look for ways to better ourselves.?

Health & Safety Minister Commends Access Industry

18 May 2006 Email this article

Lord Hunt the UK Minister for Health and Safety praised the access industry for its continued efforts to maintain and improve safety standards related to the working at height topic. The Minister addressed the Access Industry Forum (AIF) at the Safety and Health Expo exhibition in Birmingham. The forum includes industry groups such as IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) BLMA (British Ladder Manufactures Association) and PASMA (Prefabricated Access Suppliers Manufacturers Association) and has been established as a single voice for all trade associations active in the access industry, and will highlight, and resolve key issues with the industry. Developing hands-on skills the Minister took control of Facelift Access Hire?s scissor lift under the guidance of their certified instructor Mr Ewan Smith, pictured on the right.

Free Safety Harnesses

12 April 2006 Email this article

Summer is coming and until it does we?re giving away a FREE ?full body harness and lanyard? with EVERY hire of our new Haulotte Self Propelled Booms. Simply mention this offer when placing your order and we?ll send you your harness by post or deliver it with your hire. The harnesses are normally sold via our website or safety shops for £59 + VAT. They meet BS EN 361:2002 and come equipped with an adjustable lanyard as recommended by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) Conditions ? This free safety harness offer ends on the 21st June and only applies to the hire of our Haulotte self propelled booms, not to scissor lifts or other types of machinery. The hire must be for a minimum of one week and to qualify for the harness offer it must be mentioned at the time of order, requests after this point will not be valid.

Free Operators' Safety Guide

7 April 2006 Email this article

With the Working at Height Regulations set to remain a hot topic, we at Facelift continue to provide machine operators and the general public with as much health and safety information as possible. The ?Operators? Safety Guide?, which was only obtainable from the CPA (Construction Plant-hire Association) now comes in the form of a free download in our Health & Safety section, one of over fifty free downloads. The CPA having recently agreed that in the interests of safety it would be better if made freely available to the public and all access users. The aim of the guide is to supplement the instruction and training that operators have been given. To provide any user with clear and jargon free information related to the recommended working practices for the safe operation of mobile elevating work platforms. Whilst some companies have opted to sell the guide, Gordon Leicester suggested at a PAIG Committee meeting (Powered Access Information Group) that all members of the CPA wishing to use this should make a donation to the Lighthouse Club (This is the construction industries charitable organisation), and the idea was agreed unanimously. Whilst some companies have opted to sell the guide, Facelift has made the decision to make it available without charge. Download your copy of this essential reading today.

Why Women Live Longer

30 March 2006 Email this article

If you like knee knocking thrillers, then Facelifts new eye popping ?Rogues Picture Gallery? recently added to our website, will certainly get you on the edge of your seat. The gallery provides its viewer with pictures that are mind-boggling, stomach churning, and nail biting visions of disbelief! See people putting themselves and others in maximum conditions of vulnerability. With approximately 200 images currently available it?s got to be one of the biggest galleries of its type on the web.

10,000 People Trained at Facelift

13 March 2006 Email this article

Facelift has recently celebrated the training of its 10,000th pupil. To mark the achievement Managing Director of the CPA (Construction Plant-Hire Association) Mr Colin Wood was invited along to attend an IPAF training course. He successfully completed his practical and theory examinations as number 10,000 and eventually stepped up to receive his ?silver hard hat? from Facelifts MD Gordon Leicester. The company started its first training centre at their Hickstead depot in 1996 and in its first year trained 80 people with one instructor. It now has six instructors, and has trained 10,000 men and women across the UK. Mr Leicester said ?We very much wished to mark this achievement by inviting along a person who has ringed the changes within our industry, and hence Mr Colin Wood from the CPA was chosen to receive the commemorative ?silver hard hat.? Mr Leicester went on to say ?We hope as an industry we?ve begun to show some success in reaching and educating people from all areas and all levels of experience. Our aim is to take Facelift into the one stop shop ideology for people working at height, somewhere which relates to health and safety where everything is to hand.? With the company continuing its training campaign and with plans to open up further centres around the UK, it looks set to continue to climb through the governing bodies league tables and send out the all important message ?training saves lives?. The general comment from Facelifts training team was ?Here?s to the next 10,000!?

Facelift get a lift from Mitsubishi

8 February 2006 Email this article

Facelift, one of the UK?s largest independent access hire companies has taken delivery of 9 new Trojan L200 trucks from car giant Mitsubishi. The vehicles were recently delivered to the company's Head office, and were chosen because of the excellent synergy, which existed between the vehicle and the industry sector that Facelift command. The fleet of Trojans were primarily purchased for their towing ability, load-carrying competence, delivery and off road capacity together with the company car type feel, making it an ideal commercial vehicle. ?We chose Mitsubishi because we are in the process of rationalising our suppliers and know they're able to fulfil our current and future requirements, and are confident with the Company and their comprehensive support package? said Gordon Leicester Facelifts Managing Director. ?As our expansion plans for 2006 continue we wanted to insure we invested in a vehicle which worked for us in dual purpose, helping us to improve customer service alongside the other benefits

Facelift Increases Transport Fleet

30 January 2006 Email this article

Facelift has recently expanded its delivery capacity by acquiring a new high specification beaver tail from Colliers Truck Builders in Essex. The new beaver tail is the second for facelift who wanted to invest further capital into improved delivery and service, so keeping in line with its continued plan for expansion in 2006. Primarily, the vehicle will be used for transport movement out of the companies Rainham depot and used for collection and delivery of their scissor and boom fleet. Based on a 26 tonne, six wheel Volvo SM9 chassis, Company Operations Director Frank Page said ?The Volvo chassis was important to us as we know it be characterised by excellent safety as well as predictable stability and dependable road holding. We specified the new truck to help accommodate increased business, although we do have one other beaver tail in operation we wanted another vehicle with enhanced loading and unloading capabilities. This new vehicle was fitted with low profile tyres to keep the centre of gravity low, mantis folding ramps, electric winch, double row tie down points, enclosed headboard work lights and swing out safety beacons on the sides for safe loading in the dark, which all in all makes it far quicker, safer and easier to use.? Facelift is now discussing third and fourth trailers for their national depot locations.

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